Twins Stick Together
by the hotpocket hunter
Summary: When Ichigo Kurosaki lost his Shinigami powers, all contact with Karakura was cut off. Ichigo was left behind, alone and powerless. An unlikely friendship with his Inner Hollow, a secret organization bent on keeping Ichigo away from the Shinigami, and a terrifying new threat make for one strange adventure. OC's. Pairings undecided. There will be angst and crack.
1. Chapter 1

Twins Stick Together

Chapter 1

(A/N) I only update when I get reviews. Period. Even if I've already got it written. And typed. I also appreciate ideas for my stories and pairings. Anonymous reviews are welcome. Any ideas you think I might use should be placed in reviews. ALSO: I spell-checked this as best I could. If you find any errors, PLEASE point them out so that I can fix them. On with the story!

* * *

Ichigo glanced around the room. He was well accustomed to that uneasy feeling of missing something by now. After all, it had been over a year since he had sacrificed his shinigami powers to defeat Aizen. He had made his decision knowing the consequences, and he had no regrets, but he missed his Shinigami friends. He had tried to avoid any reminders of their presence, but only now, as he prepared to leave, did he realize the comfort he had drawn from this room they had shared so many memories in.

_Shut up me_, he thought irritably.

**Talkin' ta ya'self, King?**

_You shut up, too._

**Ya scared, King? **Leered the hollow.

Ichigo didn't reply. He was scared. Terrified, really. What he was doing was near suicidal. A reckless, spur-of-the-moment decision that could ultimately result in his own death. He smirked.

**Somethin' funny?** His hollow asked with a feral grin.

_I was just reflecting on how much I love suicide missions accompanied by mysterious monsters and a possible apocalypse, _he thought back.

His hollow laughed. **Looks like ya got ya guts back.**

_Let's go._

**Road trip!**

Wondering why his hollow knew what a road trip was, he wrote a quick note and left it on the desk.

* * *

_I'm helping out an old friend, I probably won't be back for awhile. Don't worry. Karin, keep Dad in line while I'm gone._

_Ichigo_

* * *

**Don' worry? That bad, huh?** His hollow seemed slightly subdued.

_Yeah. I have to get out of here while I've got the chance. If I stick around someone's bound to figure it out and come after me. If I don't tell them where I'm going, they have nothing to hide, and they can't be forced to give up information they don't have._

**'mind me not ta play ya at chess**. The hollow sounded impressed and a little wary.

_I've been masking my reiatsu since it started to return. If I keep it suppressed and spread it out slowly, it'll cover Karakura and Ishida won't be able to pinpoint me. Outside of town I'll completely suppress it. I'll go by rooftop. Taking a train means getting a ticket, and I'd rather not leave a paper trail. I transferred my bank account and left a false trail leading away from us. I think that's everything... _

**Or anythin' else,** he added, awed.

Ichigo laughed softly, and slid the window open. He slipped out into the night, his dark clothes blending into the night as he jumped to the next roof. Reiatsu or no, freestyle parkour had become his new hobby, giving him the rush he needed while unable to fight hollows.

He paused, looking over the roofs. He was dead center in the middle of town. His eyes picked out a route and he started on his way. Handsprings, backflips, flying leaps, he did it all. Gravity had no hold on him, and the whole time, everything he did, he did as a human. It was enough to put Yoruichi to shame.

A hollow leaped at a small girl's ghost, only to have a fist crush his mask.

_No point in hiding anymore,_ Ichigo thought.

His hollow cackled violently.

As the hollow faded away, Ichigo laid his hand on the ghost's forehead. She sunk through the ground in a blue glow. Konso finished, he took off out of town.

_If only Rukia could see me now_, he thought to himself. _Doing Soul Reaper duties without leaving my body_.

In the Soul Society, Rukia paused for a moment and looked at the sky, an uneasy feeling gnawing at her. Renji, walking beside her, stopped too.

"What's wrong?"

Rukia jumped, visibly startled. "Nothing."

"You worried about that stupid Stawberry again?"

She glared at him for a second, then relented. "Yeah. I just have this really bad feeling, like something terrible happened to him."

"Your intuition serves you well."

Rukia and Renji jumped.

"Nii-sama!"

Byakuya's face was kept carefully blank.

"A message from the World of the Living arrived during the Captain's meeting. Subsitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki has disappeared without a trace."


	2. Chapter 2

Twins Stick Together

Chapter 2

_Urahara Shop _

Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Renji, Rukia, and Urahara knelt around the coffee table.

"When was the last time you saw him?" questioned Rukia. "Did he say or do anything unusual?"

Orihime shook her head.

Uryu pushed up his glasses. "Not at all. He did nothing out of the ordinary. Usually I would assume this to mean that he was taken against his will, but other than an unexplained hollow killing the same night there are no signs of a struggle or fluctuating spiritual pressure. As unbelievable as it is that Kurosaki could outwit us, it seems to be the case."

"What are you saying?" asked Rukia, eyes narrowed.

"I believe Kurosaki left of his own free will."

Orihime blurted out, "Why would Ichigo leave?"

Chad voiced his thoughts. "He didn't say anything, but he has been really tense lately."

"Any idea why?"

"No. "

"He started doing parkour about a year ago and that seemed to make him happy, but..." Tatsuki's voice trailed off.

"What?" Rukia jumped on the possible lead.

"About a month ago, he started hanging out with this girl." started Tatsuki. A pang ran through Rukia.

"I thought maybe he'd gotten a girlfriend finally, but when I teased him about it he looked really confused. He denied it after I explained, but-"

Rukia was startled by the overwhelming relief that washed through her, and berated herself silently. She shouldn't be thinking like this. She hadn't seen him in a year and a half. Moreover, she was a Kuchiki. Mentally slapping herself for her lapse in attention she turned back to Tatsuki.

"It was obvious they were spending a lot of time together, but they didn't really act like a couple. He started skipping school a lot. She does too, judging from the fact she always eats lunch on the roof with him when he bothers to show up."

"There's a good chance that this girl is responsible for Ichigo's disappearance. I think-"

"No!" Orihime interrupted, almost angrily.

Everyone stopped and stared. Orihime was a very sweet girl and she never yelled at anyone.

"I- I mean..." Orihime stuttered before continuing sheepishly "Aki would never do anything like that. Her and Ichigo are really close. "

Renji's eyebrows went up. "You know this girl?"

"Ichigo introduced her to me one at lunch the first day she showed up to eat with him. When he skips school he's doing the same for her."

Urahara snapped shut his fan, a huge smile on his face.

"My, my. Ichigo's not one much for depending on people. Wonder what he's up to, concealing his reiatsu and all."

"NANI!" Six voices yelled in shock.

"B-but, I thought Ichigo lost his spiritual pressure!" Rukia sputtered in shock.

"He did. He also seems to have taken some dangerous measures building it up again."

"What do you mean?" questioned Uryu, pushing his glasses up.

"All living humans have a minute amount of reiatsu. So did Ichigo. He just also happened to have the ability to communicate with his hollow and zanpaktō. And a mind-boggling disregard for risk. And ridiculous determination. And amazing regenerative abilities. And-"

"Okay, we get it! Ichigo did something stupid and insane to get his powers back, right?"

"Close. He didn't just regain the powers he lost. He gained new ones and combined them with his old ones. When I tried to guage his reiatsu, he made the device self-distruct."

"How much reiatsu would that require?" questioned Uryu.

"Normally? The head captain in Bankai."

"NANI!" even louder than the last time, six voices raised in absolute astonishment.

"That's impossible! There's no way Ichigo could be that strong, let alone suppress his reiatsu that well. Even when he was a human he leaked reiatsu! With control like his, and reiatsu like THAT, he would probably kill us all!" Rukia shouted.

"She has a point." added Uryu.

Just then, a massive spiritual pressure crashed down on them.

"What is this?" cried Rukia.

"One of Ichigo's friends, it would appear," answered Urahara cheerfully. "His reishi compostition is quite similar. Perhaps you should see what he's here for."

Everyone glared at him for a minute.

"What, you don't trust me?" he exclaimed, feigning astonishment. Placing a hand over his heart he said, "I'm hurt!"

"Spill, Urahara!" ordered Rukia.

"Ichigo seems to have joined a rather dangerous group of individuals," he stated. "I don't have much information on what's going on here, so I believe it would be best to investigate." He snapped his fan shut and pointed at Rukia and Renji in turn. "You two should probably stay here, though."

"Is this group a threat to the Soul Society?" demanded Rukia.

"No, Miss Kuchiki, but they may be a threat to you," he answered, suddenly serious. "If they are Ichigo's friends, they may know his past."

"Why would they target us then?" she asked, baffled. "We're his friends."

"They may not see it that way. Ichigo may not even see it that way anymore. The Soul Society has persecuted hollow-hybrids, Ichigo included, but they always seem to "forgive" him when they need his help. And when he lost his powers, the Soul Society abandoned him."

"No we di-" Rukia started.

"He's right," interrupted Renji. "We did kinda ditch the poor kid. Most of us never even said goodbye, and not even you visited. And he probably blames himself for it, too. He blames everything on himself. "

Rukia looked downcast. "I thought it was better this way. I didn't think he would regain his powers-"

"And you're back to his powers again," snapped an angry voice.

Whipping around, they noticed a black-haired girl with purple streaks and silver eyes standing in the doorframe. Beside her stood a boy with spiky neon green hair and yellow eyes.

"Better this way? For you, you mean. If you knew him half as well as you think you do, or even stopped to think about it, you would know this wasn't better for him!" she hissed.

Renji cursed quietly. The spiritual pressure had come from these two.

"How did you get in here?" asked Urahara curiously.

"We just walked right in," answered the boy. "Ichi's been here, so it was easy to find. Slipping through the Kido was easy. I have a special ability, and she's a Quincy."

Uryu jumped. "A Quincy?" he asked.

"You're one too, so you should know," she answered.

"Ichi?" asked Orihime. "Do you mean Ichigo?"

"Uh-huh. Ichi's staying with us. Can't tell ya much, but something big's going down, something that makes Aizen look as harmless as a kitten," warned the green-haired boy. "The Soul Society has always persecuted those with power. They like playing God, it seems. The Quincy and the Mod Souls suffered for it. Aizen was power-hungry and manipulative, but he was lonely, too. Ichi forgives him, and that's good enough for me."

"We'll be going now," asserted the girl. "We only came to let you know he's not coming back. Later."

"Hey! Wait!" demanded Renji, jumping up.

The two disappeared with a ripping sound.

"There goes our link to Ichigo," sighed Rukia. "Now how do we rescue him?"

"Sounds to me like Ichigo doesn't want to be found," stated Urahara playfully. "Let alone rescued."

The group let out a collective sigh of defeat.

"BESIDES," shouted Urahara cheerily. "Ichi-chan is making such good new friends!"

* * *

Review, so I know what you think and what to improve. I will try to update this more frequently because its more of a suspense story. Ideas? I stink at coming up with goals and stuff for them, but I can write a decent villain. Hotpockets appreciated, but not required.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N) Oy! Fan-ladies and Fan-gentleman! I need ideas! I am building an OC to pair Ichigo with, and I need some help designing some of his finer quirks. Ideas are like hotpockets, they feed the soul. I thank you all for your reviews, and Maverick especially for all the help. I apologize for not directly responding to each of you, but I actually got a pretty good number of reviews and I'm still trying to figure out the whole messager thing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 3

* * *

Ichigo mumbled something unintelligible, burying his face in the surface beneath him as he succumbed once again to sleep.

Luka snickered. "He's a real cuddle monster isn't he?"

Raven smirked. "He's supposed to be this big scary beast, but just look at him."

Both smiled, then Luka ran a hand down his back lovingly. Ichigo sighed happily in his sleep and curled closer.

Raven smiled turned sad. "He really is lonely, huh?"

Luka tightened his grip around the slender orangette posessively. "He's ours now. They'll never hurt him again. He'll never be lonely with us. We'll take care of him and he'll be okay," he assured franticly. Leaning down to whisper in the larger male's ear, he promised, "Always. Brothers 'til the end!"

* * *

Kensei's eye twitched with annoyance. The captains, Urahara, Yoruichi, the Visored, Ichigo's human friends, Renji, and Rukia had gathered in the meeting hall. They'd discussed all of their information, and the meeting had dissolved into furious arguments. Finally, Kensei lost it.

An aura of doom surrounded him. With a low growl, he shouted: "Enough!"

The hall fell into silence.

Still furious, he continued. "The facts are, Ichigo left willingly, and according to Urahara, has new powers. He joined a secret group, who told us one: that he wouldn't be leaving them, and two: that something big is about to happen. Something worse than Aizen. This is important, and you're all squabbling like a bunch of children!"

Everyone stared at their feet, shamefaced. At that moment, a member of Squad 12 rushed in.

"An urgent message just arrived, addressed to all of you." He fiddled with a small device, bowing and disappearing after setting it on the floor.

A flash of blue light formed an image in mid air. The picture was of Ichigo and a completely colorless, slightly more built, near-identical copy, fast asleep in a tangle of limbs on what appeared to be a couch. Looking again, they realized there was a third person in the picture, smaller than the others and sandwhich between them, with wavy brown hair and a black hoodie. A pair of long legs clad in baggy black jeans cut into the frame slightly, showing a fourth person. After a moment, the image disappeared, and a video started up, volume and all.

A blood-curdling screech made them all jump. The video was of a hotel room. Ichigo took a flying leap over the couch, dodging a water balloon. "Missed me, Grimm-kitty!"

"Why you little-" started Grimmjow furiously from somewhere off-screen. He was cut off by a splash, then a manic giggled sounded as the pale copy leapt over the couch, following his orange-haired twin, who tackled him to the ground and started spraying him with whipcream.

A scream of "Foodfight!" from the kitchen startled them again, as Nelliel tackled Grimmjow into the frame. The tiny male from the first image fell from somewhere above the camera with a warcry, landing on the orangette and wrapping himself around his head and torso.

"Ah! Tensa!" cried Ichigo, staggering to his feet. "Get off me you ungrateful little brat!" he ordered, laughing.

"Not a chance Ichi!" called the white copy, tackling them both to the ground and rubbing whipped cream all over them as they squealed, Ichigo just barely wriggling away before being chased by Grimmjow in circles over people and furniture. By the time he was tackled to the floor, laughing hysterically, Nel and Tensa were pinning Shiro and painting him with grape jelly.

"Ah! Tha's cold!" he gasped, wriggling.

Tensa snickered. "Hold still Shiro! I'm making you colorful!"

Nel leaned forward, pinning him down as she laughed. "Get him, Tensa!"

Ichigo was giggling helplessly as Grimmjow tickled him, when suddenly Ulquiorra ran into the room, shrieking "Clown! Clown!" while running in circles. Everyone froze, then collapsed, laughing helplessly.

Ichigo tackled Ulquiorra to the ground while the others rolled around, giggling. Just before the video clicked off, the Quincy girl from before stomped into the room, shouting random combinations of swear words.

Even Urahara hadn't been expecting that. "That was... well... interesting," he managed.

The rest of the hall's inhabitants just stared at him.

Shinji giggled a little. "At least he's having fun."

"Yeah," snorted Renji. "Fun."

* * *

Ichigo sat perfectly still, eye twitching as Shiro and Grimmjow bickered. He sighed. "That's it."

Tensa looked at him with wide eyes before inching away. He knew better than to mess with an infuriated Ichigo, no matter how sweet the orangette could appear.

Ichigo got to his feet, an aura of doom surrounding him. Everyone except for the two arguing did their best to escape unnoticed. Shiro and Grimmjow were nose-to-nose and arguing at the top of their lungs. Ichigo reached out and slammed their heads together, eyes lit with the flames of hell. "I told you," he ground out, "to be quiet."

The high-powered hybrids were no match for the riled orangette, cowering on the rug. The rest of the group hid behind furniture to avoid becoming the target of his wrath. Tensa, fearing for his hollow 'brother's' life sighed, and tackled Ichigo to the floor, rubbing a spot between his shoulder blades. The would-be murderer purred and melted into the carpet, Tensa's expression slowly relaxing from that of someone disarming the bomb to that of someone handling a loaded weapon. A collective sigh of relief filled the room. Shiro and Grimmjow collapsed, still shaky from their brush with death- I mean Ichigo.

The apocalypse had been averted. Again.


End file.
